The Prince of Wales opened a new university campus on the first day of his annual summer visit to Wales having been directly involved with the project from the very start.

Prince Charles paid a visit to Swansea University’s new £450 million Bay Campus off Fabian Way having been directly involved in the project from the start through his The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community enterprise.

His tour saw him attend part of a gala concert by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, with soprano Elin Manahan Thomas, in the impressive Great Hall where he gave a brief speech, praising the campus and Welsh football success, before unveiling a plaque to mark the occasion.

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He then met invited guests from the area before going on a tour of the campus, stopping to talk to students along the way, and finished off with a visit to the research facilities in the campus’ engineering quarter.

During the visit, The Prince’s Foundation also announced its new Master’s in Sustainable Engineering for International Development, which will be delivered in conjunction with the university, creating links for the future between the two organisations.

The Prince said: “I could not be more delighted and proud to open this new campus. I must admit that I’m amazed that there’s anybody here at all today when most of the Principality appears to have gone to France.

“I think we were very lucky indeed to hear the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, of whom I am a patron, and in deed the marvellous soloist who told me she had screamed so loudly in front of the television she nearly lost her voice.

“As the vice chancellor so kindly mentioned I am enormously proud that my foundation for the community has had some small role to play in the whole planning process and design of this campus. Originally this site which was so contaminated, the ex-BP site also part of the original Llandarcy site of which my foundation got involved all those years ago, and so I’m thrilled to see what a difference can be made just by bringing really contaminated brown field sites back to life again in this particular way.”

The visit was delayed by 45 minutes due to the weather which saw a planned helicopter arrival scrapped in favour of a car.

The Prince, however, made light of the weather saying: “With the new campus on this remarkable site which, relying on Murphy’s law, I should have been here yesterday, to see the full magnificence that lays out to sea, but I am so thrilled that it has proved possible to create the campus here which I am sure will be increasingly world class.

“It has already paid dividends with Swansea’s ratings around the world and many more people will now want to be associated with it. I am sure that it will make an enormous difference not just for Welsh opportunities but the whole of the UK.”

He closed with more humour, at his own expense, saying: “Nothing can give me greater pleasure than to unveil this plaque as I know there are several other stages to come may or may not be completed before I finally shuffle off this mortal coil.”

None were more praising of the Prince’s role in the new campus than Richard B Davies, Vice Chancellor of Swansea University, who said: “The Swansea Bay campus will enable us to attract inward investment to Wales and promote the growth of high-technology clusters. It will establish the region as a vibrant location for modern high technology companies, bringing even greater eventual impact.”

Expanding on the Prince’s role the chief executive of The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community, David Toman, said: “We wanted to create a community, a place where people can come together to spark innovation and greater knowledge through sharing. Swansea University Bay Campus is an example of the new kinds of economy that can rise from the ashes of the old.

“Without the vision of His Royal Highness this campus simply would not have been built. The Prince’s Foundation worked tirelessly with Swansea University, Neath Port Talbot council, BP plc and St. Modwen plc to regenerate a derelict parcel of land into a world class exemplar of sustainable regeneration which is helping to deliver jobs and growth for Wales.”

The Prince, as president of PRIME Cymru, then went on to meet over 50s who have set up their own business with the help of the charity PRIME and presented awards at its annual ceremony in Swansea.

The charity was founded by the Prince of Wales in 2001 to provide advice and support to people over the age of 50 who are economically inactive, under employed or at risk of redundancy.

The Prince, who will be joined by his wife the Duchess of Cornwall, will continue his tour around Wales on Tuesday.